Hewitt's History Files

JOHN Pratt looks back with understandable pride on the day he joined Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears in a historic piece of music-making.

Not surprisingly, his father created a scrapbook of the day his son rubbed shoulders with such musical legends.

The occasion was the world premiere of the St Nicolas Cantata in Lancing College Chapel. Britten, the most widely performed British composer of the 20th century, wrote the piece to celebrate Lancing College's centenary in 1948.

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And Mr Pratt, who lives in Pulborough, was fortunate enough to be part of it. In fact, he started at Lancing College a term early to ensure that he could.

"My father was at Lancing and he was in the choir for the opening of the chapel in 1911. I was earmarked to go to Lancing. My father realised that it was the centenary and that something would be happening."